Case Summary

In Shravasti, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu woman was lured to convert to Islam by a Muslim man named Afsar Ali. The Hindu victim was offered monetary inducements and was subjected to death threats by the Muslim man. The Hinduphobia Tracker contacted the police regarding this incident. The police authorities confirmed that the victim is a Hindu woman. According to media reports, the Hindu victim filed a police complaint against the Muslim accused, Afsar Ali. In her statement to the police, she explained that the accused had proposed that she convert to Islam and marry him (Nikah). The accused was offering her money as an incentive. When she refused to convert, he threatened to kill her. On the instructions of Superintendent of Police Ghanshyam Chaurasia, action was taken under the leadership of Inspector-in-Charge Rajkumar Saroj of Kotwali Bhinga. A case was registered against the accused under several sections, including the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act 2021. Subsequently, the police arrested Afsar Ali from Machharihwa intersection and produced him in court.

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Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory Proselytisation. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Conversion/attempts to convert by inducement. Predatory Proselytisation is not just limited to threat, harassment, force and violence, but it also has contours of stealth. In several cases, the Hindu victim is exploited to convert, with non-Hindus taking advantage of their poverty. In such cases, the Hindu victim who is suffering financially is offered monetary benefits, including lucrative offers for jobs, health treatment, education, etc, to induce the victim into changing his/her religion. In such cases, the religious identity of the victim and the aim to disenfranchise him from his faith form the heart of the crime. Also, taking advantage of and exploiting an individual’s economic vulnerabilities is widely acknowledged as exploitation, forms of which are often penalised by law. Such cases therefore are considered religiously motivated hate crimes since the victim’s religious identity forms the very heart of the crime itself. The other subcategory selected is- Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion. Harassment covers a wide range of behaviours of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, including threats and coercion. Harassment and threats, in this case, find their root on discriminatory grounds which has the effect of nullifying a person’s rights or infringing upon his freedom to exercise his right specifically owing to the victim’s religious identity. Verbal and physical threats and psychological or physical harassment are often used against Hindu victims because they choose to practice their professed religion. Religious harassment also includes forced and involuntary conversions by harassment, threats or coercion. Coercion includes intimidatory tactics like force-feeding a Hindu victim beef to convert to another religion, forceful circumcision etc. In several cases documented, non-Hindu perpetrators or those who harbour specific animosity towards Hinduism, harass victims simply based on their religious identity. Such cases often also include harassment to ensure the Hindu victim abandons his/her professed religion and adopts the religion of the perpetrator. Such cases where Hindu victims are harassed to convert to the perpetrator’s religion are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. In this case, a Hindu woman was lured with money in an attempt to coerce her into converting to Islam and marrying the Muslim accused. When she refused, she was threatened with death. The targeting of the victim for conversion was deliberate, rooted specifically in her Hindu faith. When individuals or groups focus their efforts on converting someone of a particular religion—in this instance, a Hindu woman—it demonstrates a fundamental disregard for the sanctity of the Hindu faith and the religious beliefs of the victim. Conversion that stems not from personal conviction but from external persuasion or pressure is not merely about sharing different beliefs; it is, in effect, an attempt to undermine the values, traditions, and identity of the Hindu victim. The Muslim perpetrator’s targeting of a Hindu woman reflects a lack of respect for her religion and exemplifies an attempt to strip away her faith, making the crime religiously motivated. The use of financial incentives to encourage conversion clearly reveals that the act was not fronted by kindness or goodwill. Instead, it was a calculated strategy to exploit the Hindu victim because of her religion. By providing inducements for her to abandon her faith, the perpetrator resorted to emotional blackmail. Such coercion robs the Hindu victim of her agency and dignity, enforcing a forced conversion. These incidents are not random or isolated; rather, they are premeditated efforts to erode the Hindu faith, persuade the victim to renounce her beliefs, and embrace Islam. Such acts are deeply rooted in religious animosity towards the Hindu victim and her faith, clearly making this a religiously motivated crime. Furthermore, when the Hindu victim refused to convert, the Muslim perpetrator responded with threats of death. The use of death threats to force conversion illustrates the perpetrator’s willingness to go to any length to ensure she abandoned her religion. Conversion achieved through coercion and intimidation—in particular, through death threats—is a grave violation of individual liberty and religious autonomy of the Hindu woman, reinforcing the religiously motivated nature of this crime. These instances of targeted proselytisation activities stem from inherent hostility towards the victim's professed faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to their faith is subject to being dehumanised till they convert, making it a religiously motivated crime against Hindus. Since this case meets multiple parameters of a religiously motivated attack against a Hindu woman and her faith; therefore, it is being added to the hate crime database. Disclaimer: Media reports do not specify the date, month, or year when the victim's ordeal began. Therefore, for the purpose of documentation, the date when the news was reported in the media, 19th August 2025, is being recorded as the date of the incident.